Bucket conveyer.



T. A; EDISON.

BUCKET GONVEYER.

APPLIOATIOK FILED JUNE 14, 1907.

991,433. 1 Patented May 2,1911.

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THOMAS A. EDISON, 0F LLEWELLYN PARK, ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

BUCKET GONVEYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1911.

Application filed June 14, 1907. Serial No. 378,889.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS ALVA EDIsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Llewellyn Park, Orange, county of Essex, and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in BucketConveyers, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to improvements in bucket conveyers adaptedparticularly for the conveying of very gritty material, such as Portlandcement. In using ordinary bucket conveyers in a cement mill, I find thatthe proper lubrication of the bearings of the supporting rollerspresents enormous difficulty, since the dust works its way into thebearings and the oil is forced out, so as to rapidly destroy the same.Furthermore, in the case of a conveyer of considerable length, manyhundred separate bearings for the supporting rollers require attention,and much time is wasted in that work since the filling of the individualoil-cups may require the stopping of the conveyer and consequently agood part of the mill. I aim therefore to make a bucket conveyer inwhich supporting rollers are dispensed with, and to this end theinvention consists of a bucket conveyer in which the chains or ropeswhich carry the buckets are supported on shoes traveling over lubricatedtracks. By keeping the tracks well oiled or greased, the conveyer can beoperated with almost the same power as when supporting rollers are used,and the presence of dust or grit is not seriously objectionable, sincethe shoes tend to keep the tracks substantially clean, while theaddition of the dust to the lubricant does not seriously interfere withits proper lubricating properties.

In order that the invention may be better understood, attention isdirected to the accompanying drawing, forming part of thisspecification, and in which Figure 1, is a side view illustrating aportion of a bucket conveyer of the common type provided with my presentimprovements, the buckets being shown as supported on chains, butobviously other supports may be used; Fig. 2, a plan view of a bucketconveyer with a supporting chain and shoes at one side, and Fig. 3, across-sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, illustrating thesupporting chains.

In these views, corresponding parts are represented by the same numeralsof reference.

The buckets 1 are shown as carried by the heavy chains 2, the links ofwhich are connected by rods 3 in the usual way. The conveyer is drivenby one or more sprocket wheels 4t engaging the side chains. Each chainis provided with wearing shoes 5, arranged at suitable distances apartand traveling on tracks 6, preferably formed with troughs in their upperfaces, and in which a suitable supply of oil or grease may bemaintained. When the conveyer is slightly inclined as is preferable, theoil may be introduced at the upper end of the tracks 6, so as to flowslowly down the same, but even when the conveyer is horizontal acomparatively few lubricating devices will be sulficient to properlysupply the oil or grease which will be distributed throughout the lengthof the tracks by the movement of the supporting shoes.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. In a conveyer, the combination with the supporting chains, and meansfor driving the same, of a set of shoes carried by each chain on theside thereof, and midway of the links thereof, and a track for each setof shoes, substantially as set forth.

2. In a conveyer, the combination with the supporting chains, and meansfor driving the same, of a set of shoes carried by each chain on theside thereof, and a grooved track for each set of chains forming arunway for lubricant, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 11th day of June 1907.

THOS. A. EDISON.

Witnesses:

FRANK L. DYER, FRANK D. LEWIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

